This piece of work is a true representation of the past. It represents a discovery of forgotten things which brings a realization that this place was someones past; the history of lives we never even knew. There is great use of leading lines and depth of field within these photograph which help to direct the viewer around the piece as a whole. The carefully positioned pictures create a strong contrast and juxtaposition to the photos themselves which are completely wrecked and derelict. This use of contrast may be a reference to the atmosphere which once was present to how it appears to be now. This links to the way the hospital used to be run, probably smooth and regulated well, compared to the myths associated with it and how it looks now. Personally, I believe that viewers should appreciate the subjects of this work but keep them in mind as examples of humanity’s wastefulness and the impact society has on nature. I think that to make this piece of work better, I could have explored a variety of derelict sites as appose to only one. I could have also thought about the presentation more to create something more visually pleasing such as a 3D sculpture, incorporating my photos within it.
This post covers my final outcomes from the whole landscape project. Some of these were photographs that i had printed and some are purposed for the blog.
The first of my final outcomes is this composition of 2 photographs of mountainous landscape in Madeira. I chose to put these two photographs together as one of my final pieces simply because i believe the photos show my raw camera skills and show the true beauty of the landscape as opposed to my previous projects in which my final outcomes were fairly edited and although the raw camera skills of those pieces were good the editing could be seen to ‘take over’ the raw skill. I believe that the exposure of all the photos that I have chosen for my final outcomes are well suited to the condition in which the photos were taken. These 2 photographs have taken inspiration from and are a response to the romanticism landscape photographer Ansel Adams.
Outcome 1
Outcome 1
For my second final outcome I have chosen this 3 piece composition of black and white photographs of rocks and water. I believe that these photos represent the harmony of land and ocean as the water covered rocks show how the ocean adds to the aesthetics of the land. the monochrome of the images helps to focus on the detailed textures and shadows of the images by enhancing the light and dark within each.
Outcome 2
Outcome 2
For my third final outcome I have chosen this 3 piece composition of photographs of minimal, colourful and bold architecture which show a really interesting combination of shape, pattern, shadow and colour. Also the combination of the 3 primary colours is something that I believe is rather aesthetically pleasing. These 3 images are a inspired by the abstract photographer Yener Torun.
Outcome 3
Outcome 3
For my fourth final outcome I have chosen this 4 piece composition of photographs of houses positioned in and on top of natural landscapes to show how industrialization/property building effects the natural landscape (but not always in a bad way), which is the idea I was aiming to present from the start of the project. Also I believe that the 4 photographs are all very well matched as the colours and exposures are very balanced.
Outcome 4
Outcome 4
For my last final outcome I have chosen this photograph of a shoreline with the sunset and two horses. Similar to my first outcome I feel like this piece presents the pure beauty of the landscape and displays my raw camera skills so therefore deserves to be one of my final outcomes. I feel that the dusk exposure of the image is very effective as it enhances all the different textures within the image such as the smooth clouds and the rough, jagged sea. The silhouette-like dark figures of the horses are the main focus of the image as the sunlight draws the viewers eye right towards them.
Outcome 5
Outcome 5
Overall I feel that my 5 outcomes achieve what I wanted to present by the end of the landscape project as they show the harmony between Urban and Natural landscapes. Whilst taking inspiration from the photographers that I have looked at over the project. Also with this project I have been able to produce aesthetically pleasing outcomes whilst purely showing my raw camera skills without any over-creativity which I have been more inclined to explore in my previous projects.
For the presentation of my images I have printed my selected images out onto three different sizes based on how important each image was in telling the story and messages I intended.
A3
A4
A5
For presentation, I intend to create a story board that gives the audience an insight into the St Saviors Mental Asylum. This will consist of using two foam boards, taped together, and arranging the images into an order that will attract viewers and direct them around the board to the different pictures. The pictures which gives the biggest impact will be in the middle as the main focus of my final piece. I will experiment with different compositions and placing of my photos to ensure i get the best possible arrangement for effect.
The following images show the process I took to get to my final arrangement. In order, it shows how I experimented with the positioning of my photographs to get to my final piece.
I think this composition works the best because it is visually pleasing, allowing the viewer to focus on the middle two pictures, the most important ones, and then be directed around them to get an insight of what the derelict building entails.
The overall effect of the initial images was completely incorrect for the story and messages I intended to portray. The photos did not ‘pop’ at all and the lighting created some very dull and faded images that were not eye catching. Through the editing process I manipulated all aspects of the photo, focusing on lighting and colors specifically. A main feature in creating these eerie feeling images, was the clarity. With a high clarity I was able to bring out very fine textures within the walls and other subject matter within the photo to give an overall feeling of destruction. I used the brush tool for almost every photo which allowed me to changed lighting and colors within small parts of my photos. Another editing technique i used in creating these images was changing specific colors through the hue, saturation and luminance. I believe the initial photos were not effective themselves and could have been improved by using a stronger light source within the building and possibly taking photos on a sunnier day which would have allowed for brighter photos inside the building and better lighting outside too.
I believe for my final piece, these images are the effective and the best in portraying a sense of landscape, documentary photography of the derelict mental asylum. The variation of vibrant and black and white photographs will compliment each other when side by side in my final presentation. I believe this set of images creates a true representation of the mental institution at its current state and how it is wastefully sitting there, taking up space that could be used for nature. However it supports the untrue myths associated with how it was once full of psychopaths and was poorly run.
Through this set of images I want the audience to appreciate and acknowledge the wastefulness in which humanity evokes. Also i want them to serve as an eerie reminder that nothing lasts forever.
